Worth flying for
The world's great events, on a calendar
Some trips are about a place. These are about a moment: a bloom, a festival, a spectacle with a window measured in weeks. Here is the whole year, in order.
Januarywhere to go in January →
Late January or February, on the new moon that begins the lunar year; the date moves with the lunar calendar, and festivities run about 15 days to the Lantern Festival
Chinese New Year
China, plus Singapore, Hong Kong & Taipei
The world's largest annual celebration, and the world's largest annual migration, in the same two weeks.
Roughly two weeks ending on Shrove Tuesday, so usually within late January and February; the dates move with Easter
Venice Carnival
Venice, Italy
Masks, capes, and candlelit palaces: the world's most elegant carnival, in Venice's most atmospheric season.
Februarywhere to go in February →
Late February or March, on the full moon of the Hindu month of Phalguna; the date moves with the lunar calendar
Holi in India
India nationwide, best known in Mathura, Vrindavan & Jaipur
The festival of colors turns the whole country into a two-day explosion of pigment, music, and mischief.
The week before Ash Wednesday, usually in February and sometimes early March; the dates move with Easter
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The biggest party on Earth: samba schools in the Sambadrome, and hundreds of street blocos everywhere else.
Fat Tuesday falls in February or early March, moving with Easter; the parade season builds for weeks before, peaking in the final two weekends
Mardi Gras in New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
America's greatest free party: weeks of parades building to Fat Tuesday, and almost none of it is Bourbon Street.
Marchwhere to go in March →
Late March into early April, with peak bloom varying a week or two year to year
Cherry Blossoms in Washington, DC
Washington, DC
Three thousand cherry trees, one unforgettable week, and a bloom date that refuses to be pinned down.
Late March through April, moving south to north across the country
Cherry Blossom Season in Japan
Japan nationwide, sweeping south to north
The sakura front rolls up the entire country, and the whole nation goes outside to meet it.
Mid March through mid May, with the fields at their boldest in mid-to-late April
Tulip Season in the Netherlands
Lisse & Amsterdam, Netherlands
Seven million bulbs at Keukenhof, striped fields to the horizon, and a peak that lasts only a few weeks.
Aprilwhere to go in April →
Maywhere to go in May →
Junewhere to go in June →
Julywhere to go in July →
July 6 to 14 every year, with a bull run each morning from July 7 through July 14
Running of the Bulls (San Fermin)
Pamplona, Spain
Nine days of San Fermin: the world's most famous bull run, and a round-the-clock street festival around it.
Ten days in early-to-mid July, opening with a parade on the first Friday
Calgary Stampede
Calgary, Alberta
The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth: ten days when an entire modern city puts on a cowboy hat.
Augustwhere to go in August →
Most of August, roughly three and a half weeks from early August to the end of the month
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Edinburgh, Scotland
The largest arts festival on Earth: thousands of shows a day in a city that becomes one giant stage.
The last Wednesday of August, every year, with the tomato fight itself lasting about an hour
La Tomatina
Bunol, Spain
One hour, one small Spanish town, and over a hundred tons of tomatoes thrown at everyone in reach.
Septemberwhere to go in September →
Mid September to the first Sunday of October, roughly 16 to 18 days, mostly in September despite the name
Oktoberfest
Munich, Germany
The world's biggest folk festival: fourteen giant tents, six million visitors, and a very German kind of chaos.
Late September through mid October, with peak color sweeping from north to south and high elevations downward
New England Fall Foliage
Vermont, New Hampshire & Maine
The world's most famous fall color show sweeps south across three states in about three weeks.
September through March, whenever nights are dark; the equinox months and deep winter each have their own case
Northern Lights Season
Iceland, Norway & Finnish and Swedish Lapland
The aurora borealis runs on dark skies, not luck alone: stack the odds and the sky performs.
Octoberwhere to go in October →
Nine days in early October, spanning two weekends, with dawn mass ascensions as the signature spectacle
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Hundreds of hot air balloons rising into a New Mexico dawn: the most photographed event on Earth earns it.
Builds through late October and peaks on November 1 and 2, with celebrations spanning roughly the last week of October into early November
Dia de Muertos in Oaxaca
Oaxaca, Mexico
Mexico's most profound holiday, at its most vivid: marigolds, candlelit cemeteries, and a city that welcomes its dead home.
October or November, on the new moon of the Hindu month of Kartika; the date moves with the lunar calendar
Diwali in India
India nationwide
The festival of lights: five days when a billion people illuminate everything they own.
Novemberwhere to go in November →
Thanksgiving morning, the fourth Thursday of November, with the balloon inflation viewable the afternoon before
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
New York City
Giant balloons over Manhattan on Thanksgiving morning: America's most-watched parade, best played with a plan.
November through March, with the butterflies arriving around early November and the liveliest viewing in the warming weeks of late January and February
Monarch Butterfly Migration in Mexico
Michoacan, Mexico
A hundred million butterflies wintering in the mountain firs: one of the last great wildlife spectacles on Earth.
Late November through Christmas Eve for most markets, with some running into early January
Christmas Markets in Europe
Germany, Austria & France, multi-city
Mulled wine, wooden stalls, and medieval squares in lights: Europe's best-loved season, done city by city.